My Teaching Philosophy

As a teacher, I believe I am working to help my students become good citizens of their community, state, nation, and the world. It is by getting an education that we are able to change the situation of society in general, a primary component of good citizenship, which becomes significant to us as we get older and become more and more conscious of the world around us. With that purpose in mind, let me discuss how I work to achieve it:


Develop an authoritative classroom dynamic

Psychologist Diana Baumrind suggests,

Authoritative parents are both demanding and responsive. "They monitor and impart clear standards for their children’s conduct. They are assertive, but not intrusive and restrictive. Their disciplinary methods are supportive, rather than punitive. They want their children to be assertive as well as socially responsible, and self-regulated as well as cooperative"

If I were to substitute ‘teachers’ for ‘parents’ and ‘students’ for ‘children,’ the principle would still fit. As a teacher, I feel that declaring behavior standards, assertively upholding those standards while at the same time discussing their validity, and providing discipline that encourages obedience rather than punishing disobedience, will create a friendly atmosphere in which my students will trust that I have a sincere concern for their academic well-being.


Introduce and discuss each topic/skill and its relevance

Basically, how can we as teachers expect our students to have any interest in the subject if they don’t understand how it applies to their lives? As human beings are internally motivated by nature, this must be the first goal, followed by the goal of teaching them how it applies to society. Theorist Paulo Freire refers to this attitude as “Problem-posing education,” stating,

“Problem-posing education, responding to the essence of consciousness — intentionality — rejects communiques and embodies communication. It epitomizes the special characteristic of consciousness: being conscious of not only as intent on objects but as turned in upon itself in a Jasperian “split” — consciousness as consciousness of consciousness.”

Freire believes in presenting the student with common problems that are relevant to their existence, subsequently challenging them to critically analyze the problem and how it should be solved. These common problems may vary depending on the grade level, from the preschooler learning to discredit violence as a solution to personal differences, thus keeping them out of jail in later years for battery, to the college freshman learning there may be more to a homeless man’s situation than pure laziness, which may incline him to support efforts to end poverty.


Establish Connection

As has been emphasized in previous presentations, connecting with your students is important for teachers of writing. This connection is achieved by exposing yourself as a human being, primarily because they are exposing themselves all the time. When you ask them their thoughts and opinions, they are making themselves vulnerable to their classmates’ scrutiny. Reciprocating this enables them to relate to you better. This can be achieved by humor, sharing personal experiences that relate to the topic, or sharing talents that relate to the topic. Today I will connect with you all by playing my guitar. Let’s pretend it’s still Tuesday of earlier this week, and I am on the panel that was organized to inform us of LDS culture. This is called The USU Song.



Give concrete assignments, enabling them to practice their newfound skills by applying them to their own lives

Students want to become productive members of society. That is truly my belief, so we need to show them how and then give them practice so that they can see how use that skill to make them better people. These steps I have shared will not only create a trusting classroom atmosphere, but will also give our students the tools they need to achieve this desire.

A Multimodal Task-Based Framework for Composing

I suppose this article vindicates Cheryl's open-ended assignments. ;) Actually, I have appreciated our open-ended assignments thus far, though like the article says, those of us not used to that can find it quite frustrating. It does, however, provide us with the opportunity to expand our analytical mind and develop our own ideas for accomplishing a general purpose. It forces us to consider our resources and how those resources might be able to accomplish the purpose. It also helps us realize that in and outside school, we're going to be faced with a wide variety of options that simply cannot be structured as much as we're used to. It's a part of problem-solving that can't be taught if our teachers are constantly giving us certain parameters for an assignment. But besides that, it enables us to think outside the box without being penalized for it. This is because, when a specific structure is provided for us to follow, it would be almost unethical for a teacher not to penalize a student for not following that structure. So this philosophy empowers students as well as teachers.

Sound Engineering

This article reiterates the theory that providing multimodal literacy to our students enables them to make their class experiences more meaningful in their lives. As we step away from written text only, and are willing to compose using various types of media, we are showing our students the role composition really does play in their lives, no matter what field they choose. In the case of the musician, he had to come up with words for a song that would define music, followed by creating a cd booklet. Both of these tasks are typical for people creating music, but it's quite doubtful that, had it not been for this assignment, he would have conceptualized them as tasks to which composition and writing skills are quite relevant. The skills taught in writing are unnoticeably very relevant to the music industry.

When of New-Media Writing

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment that our infrastructure can either promote or impede our ability to compose. The main problem in the article, as I saw it, lay within the expectations of the teacher, the students, and the administration. On the teacher's part, she expected her students to be able to accomplish certain tasks that would meet the class curriculum, and since this curriculum needs to be approved by the administration, her assumption was that the administration would help her accomplish these tasks. The students, of course, expected to be given the tools necessary to accomplish these tasks that would in turn accomplish course objectives. The administration, on the other hand, expected students and teachers to operate within the infrastructure they had designed and basically "deal with it". But besides that, the policy they created was based on the expectation that students would not be able to control themselves enough to respect each other's privacy.

With this in mind, communication of these expectations (or lack thereof) is what caused the problem. Communicating an expectation of infrastructure that will aid our ability to accomplish certain objectives is just as important as communicating an expectation of what those objectives will be.

Happenings

In all honesty, when I took the teaching practicum a year ago, I was exposed to many different lesson plan ideas that, based on my understanding of English Composition as a Happening, could be considered a happening. There was one lesson plan, however, that I developed outside that class in an effort to teach my students how voice plays into creating the mood for a story. Now, however, I realize the lesson has so many more implications than choosing the appropriate voice to create a certain mood. It would also be a great method for teaching rhetoric and the importance of appealing to your audience. It's a song by the band INXS that has two different versions on the same album--one fast version and one slow version:

Inxs - Heaven Sent

Your eyes are like deep wells of desire
Once in your arms I'm on fire
You were sent girl so perfectly true
Changing my life
Now I'm a survivor

Heaven sent
That's what I call you
Heaven sent
That's what I call you

Late at night when the evening fire has died
There's a look in your eye
Seductive images fly

Heaven sent
That's what I call you
Heaven sent
That's what I call you

One day you'll see what angels can see
Dressed in black if she comes back
I think I'll loose my mind

Tuesday she works
In the library uptown
Some useful knowledge
Can always be found
Don't burn the library
Till you've read all the books
Sometimes in life
You get a second look

Heaven sent
That's what I call you
Heaven sent
That's what I call you
Heaven sent
That's what I call you
Heaven sent
That's what I call you

Heaven sent
Heaven sent
Heaven sent
Heaven sent
Heaven sent

In an effort ot teach multimodal literacy (specifically audio design), I would show my students how singing the same lyrics at different speeds would affect the author's appeal to the audience. The first time I used this lesson to teach voice, most of my students agreed that the fast, upbeat version is more appealing, sounding like a man in a healthy relationship simply professing his intense feelings for his lover. Indeed, a woman would be flattered to hear this from her lover, or just a love interest, perhaps:

Late at night when the evening fire has died, There's a look in your eye, Seductive images fly

With electric guitars strumming in the background, the man says this in a manner that either implies that they're getting really close, or at least that he's having a meaningful conversation wtih her and just goes weak when he looks at her. Either way, whatever relationship they have seems two-sided and seems to have potential.

In contrast, my students thought the slow version sounded like a mentall disturbed stalker singing about a beautiful woman who doesn't even know he exists. He fanatasizes about this woman, and any visual images he gets of her are either in his head or are a result of his stalking ventures: Late at night when the evening fire has died, There's a look in your eye, Seductive images fly. In a slow manner, this sounds more or less like he's peering through her window when it's dark, and just looking at her arouses him sexually: Tuesday she works in the library uptown. Again, this sounds more or less like he's following her without her knowledge. Just the slow, reflective manner in which he sings these lyrics, along with the steady percussion and woodwinds in the background, is enough to scare a person into calling the police out of ethical obligation.

This lesson, I believe, has many implications as to how we can effectively deliver audio information to an audience. Like I said earlier, the man in the fast version doesn't even have to be in a relationship with that woman to impress her. If he sings it in a charming, upbeat manner, he can still woo the woman of his dreams. The slow version, however, could scare the same woman away and maybe even persuade her into filing a restraining order--even though he's singing the same lyrics.

I consider this a happening simply because INXS is modern enough to speak to the students on a level that perhaps classical music cannot. It engages them more by making a stronger connection to their lives, helping them realize that the music they listen to has rhetorical implications that will determine their reaction.

Transitions between PP and Multiliteracies

The connection between chapter 19 of Pssions, Pedagogies, and 21st Century Technologies and first several chapters of Multiliteracies seems to be a critique of western society's emphasis on basic literacy. It's not so much the emphasis on literacy that's being criticized, for the basic idea behind all these pedagogies actually constructs literacy as a powerful tool for communication. What the authors in chapter 19 of Passions see as problematic, however, western society's insistence that basic literacy is itself the key to solving the ills of society. If we simply learn how to read, endless opportunities are available to us, or so they say. All we need to do is learn those skills and we'll be okay. Literacy skills are the key to everyone's problems.

But what society fails to emphasize is the fact that knowing how to read and write is only a small part of the equation for changing the world, or a the very least, ourselves. While encouraging literacy is definitely the beginning, society often fails to also encourage the internalization of the information we gather once we become literate. How do we make the most of our skills? More importantly, how do we come to understand the significance of those skills. Those skills lay dormant if students do not understand what those skills do for them. Later on in the chapter, a letter to Dear Abby complains that children these days, when asked to bring a favorite book, show up with an advertisement or a coupon book because they have no books at home. The reader then emphasizes the need for children to learn to love books and reading (356). But the reader fails to state why we should love reading. What's so great about it? If the children's parents have gotten by without books, what's the point. In contrast, it's easy to see coupon books as a way of saving money, which is often important to our lives.

I see the same theme in Multiliteracies, where other literacies besides basic literacy are emphasized as a method for creating meaningful representations of information. While the written word is often given superiority over other mediums of communication, the chapters prove those other mediums to be more effective in many contexts. For example, in Multimodality, Kress shows us a page taken out of a science textbook in which visual diagrams of a circuit are manipulate to represent different types of information, such as the device's function, its different parts, and its interaction with other devices (199). In this particular context, written language would do a poor job of accomplishing the diagram's objective. Because of this and other examples, I see Multiliteracies as emphasizing the importance of basic literacy only as it interacts with other literacies, such as visual, technological, even critical.

I basically see these pedagogies as encouraging the application of basic literacy to improve other literacy skills. While I value writing more than a lot of people, I try not to dogmatize its importance at the expense of other important qualities that help us become good citizens and human beings. I see it as a form of communication. In one of my classes yesterday, we were discussing how visual arguments can spark emotion. One student mentioned the old saying that "a picture paints a thousand words." A thousand words, however, is three or four pages of writing, so if we hope to effectively deliver what we are trying to say and learn from what others are trying to say, we need to accept that knowing how to read and write is only part of making our lives better.

The Call to Write

This composition text tends to teach from a critical and ethical pedagogical perspective. It actually discusses different genres of writing, from personal narratives to proposals, but each section is summed up with exercises concerning the ethical and critical issues behind students' writing and genres of writing. One example discusses passing notes in class (a genre of writing) and how, while they are meant to promote social relationships, they can actually exclude people at the same time. Another section that discusses voice contains an e-mail correspondence between a Vietnam veterna and a homosexual who has had bad experiences with military men. The text discusses the tone taken by each participant, and asks us questions about the critical implications, such as what type of tone we should take on a sensitive issue we feel passionate about, particularly when we don't want to assume anything about our direct audience.

I actually appreciate this perspective the text takes. The textbook I'm teaching out of fails to discuss ethical implications, which I think are important in any form of writing. These considerations will make students more conscious of the implications behind every choice they make in their writing, thus making them more credible.

Passions, Pedagogies, and 21st Century Technologies

In my reading of Passions, Pedagogies, and 21st Century Technologies, I came to view it as an edited collection directed primarily at discussing the critical issues of using technology in the classroom. From the simple conventions of the standard essay to the economic issues of using computers and online interaction in the classroom, it seems that the articles sought to address the inequality issues created by these advancements.

Admittedly, after reading chapter two (chapter one did seem as critically oriented), I responded with a “Here we go again” attitude, predicting that most of these articles would attempt to convince me that all advancements in technology favor the values of the dominant class and perpetuate inequality. This attitude prevailed upon me as soon as I read Faigley’s and Romano’s suggestion that “In essayistic literacy, ‘good writing’ is defined by those characteristics most prized in academic essay” (Hesse 35). In other words, they seemed to be suggesting that the essay is oppressive of those students who do not conform to the traditional essay conventions. That put me on my guard.

Fortunately, I soon realized that this text was not one-sided, nor was it focused on complaining about the inequality created by technology. That is, the articles didn’t do so and propose the banishment of technology as the only viable solution, which is a good thing, because Denis Baron made it clear in chapter one that technology is omnipresent. Instead, the articles presented specific issues on both sides of the political spectrum, and I was pleased to see that inequality was not the constant issue. The more prevalent issue was whether advancements in technology are being used to such an extreme that disables student progress in the classroom by minimizing the importance of human faculty and face-to-face interaction. In “Beyond Imagination,” Faigley discusses the prevalence of universities that are either completely online or simply ignore general education requirements and focus on technological literacy. He counters the innovation and value placed upon these institutions, stating, “First, we have to keep the focus on learning and not on technology, and to do that we have to ask: What do we want students to learn?” (137). So, instead of indicting technology as a problem that must go away, he is simply suggesting that technology be used in more moderate proportions and not be prioritized above traditional learning methods just for the sake of progress.

My favorite article was Liberal Individualism and Internet Policy, which brings to light the ethics involved when we combine technology with the concept of free speech. Where do we draw the line between our right to express ourselves to our classmates and their rights to enjoy an online environment that is not hostile? “When do words alone constitute harm or physical threat to an individual?” (Porter 235). I do agree with the suggestion that the American emphasis on equality has played a role in constant conflicts over what is protected by the First Amendment. If free speech wasn’t guaranteed, then, like African societies, citizens wouldn’t be so outraged when compelled to adjust their speech for the benefit of others. I actually agree with MacKinnon’s suggestion that “[free speech] should allow the marginalized, oppressed, or silenced a chance to speak against the majority…but should not be applied to further discrimination against the marginalized, oppressed, and silenced” (qtd. in Porter 239). The First Amendment should be used responsibly and not as a crutch to excuse irresponsible behavior.

All in all, I enjoyed the article, and appreciate its nonpartisan approach to the ethical and critical issues in the use of technology in the classroom. I do have one question, however. If, as the Porter article mentions, a university segregated two online forums between men and women, how can a woman sue someone in the men's forum for sexual harassment? One of my pet peeves is when someone takes offense to a communication that wasn't even directed at them.

Feminist Pedagogy: Discourse and Diversity--Experimental Writing Within the Academy

According to his article found in the Journal of College Composition and Communication, students need new options for writing if they are struggling with expressive concepts that don't fit traditional academic forms. Writing outside the dominant discourse is often referred to as alternative writing or feminist writing. If students are not attempting to write outside established conventions, they should consider how others might feel the need to do so. "Linguistic and rhetorical flexibility" may help students write better conventional prose. Historically, women have been viewed as writing different from men, which doesn't have to be a bad thing, but writing like a woman has been a bad connotation, and it's suggested that as a rule, men's writing is more extensive and meticulous than women's writing. Other sources of difference in writing style should also be considered, such as race, gender, class, and even sexual orientation. Students shouldn't have to be forced to used language that pleases or reflects the preference of their 'masters'. They should experiment with ways to weave their writing together with external sources. They should explore the possibility that the writer does not possess all the knowledge necessary to write well.

Writing Across the Curriculum: The Second Stage and Beyond

Also taken from the Journal of College Composition and Communication, this article discusses the focus of writing across the curriculum on improving student writing. It initially began as a "quick-fix response" by administrators and faculty to a perceived literary crisis, but is now a permanent fixture. It entails a faculty workshop, led by an outside expert, on using specific classroom strategies to improve student writing. To accomodate newcomers and veterans, they offer different levels of expertise. Many schools now report emphasizing writing and critical thinking, while some programs examine language development skills. Some programs have published impressive handbooks for faculty on evaluating and assigning writing. Several programs feature workshops, seminars, and freshman composition classes taught by non-English faculty. Central administrative setup is necessary to monitor and nurture the program, prepare faculty and teacher's assistants, and oversee proficiency exams. Writing Across the Curriculum is more than just increasing workload and requirements of already existing writing classes. It's closely tied with thinking and learning and brings about change in teaching and student writing.

Writing Center Pedagogy: Collaboration, Control, and a Writing Center

Collaboration often masquerades as democracy, when it actually practices the same old authoritarian control. Oftentimes one person will be taking the lead, while others will follow. This will not work in a Writing Center. Collaboration involves viewing knowledge and reality as mediated by or constructed thorugh language in social use, as socially constructed. This theory threatens the "Center as Storehouse" idea of the Writing Center--which prescribes and hands out skills to infividual learners. It also threatens Garret Centers--believe in individual genius and individualism, thus serving as validation of the student's "I-search." In the author's research, however, students have said that collaboration does more for their school experience than the other theories. It aids in problem finding as well as problem solving, learning abstractions, transfer and assimilation, interdisicplinary thinking, etc. To be effective, however, collaboration must demand actual collaboration--students, teachers, and tutors must need and utilize one another to carry out common goals. Goals must be defined and tasks must be organzined. The school day and term work against it, and the drop-in nature of the Writing Center works against it. It can be troublesome because it may preserve the hierarchy of authority. It also goes against traditional education practices in America. Writing Centers should, however, be centers for collaboration, as collaboration is becoming necessary for even lower-paying jobs. Workers need to be able to work with others who are different from them and to learn to negotiate power and control. It would help students solve problems set by teachers and identify problems for themselves as well as work as a group in monitoring, evaluating, and building a theory of how groups work.

Critical Pedagogy: Why Doesn't This Feel Empowering?

Published in the Harvard Educational Review, this article submits that the "key assumptions, goals, and practices fundamental to critical pedagogy" acutally exacerbate conditions of sexism, racism, and banking education. Using terms such as empowerment, student voice, and dialogue seem to imply an unequal relationship between teacher and student. It suggests that the teacher knows more than the student about these issues, which isn't always the case. It reflects authoritarianism because it suggests that teachers are there to end student oppression, making no mention of their own plight, thus making them look superior an advantaged. The student voice is only heard in the context of sharing their experiences with oppression. Teachers are relied upon to interpret their goals and problems, and students are subjected to hear whatever the teacher currently feels passionate about. As teachers, we need to recognize that our knowledge of other groups and their oppression will always be partial, not complete.

Expressive Pedagogy: Teaching for Student Change

According to College Composition and Communication, composition researches have argued that instruction should aim for social reform. We should help students recognize values, discourses, and institutional practices which have shaped their realities. As early as 1916, John Dewey envisioned the classroom as "a vehicle for social change." Recent theorists have agreed with this basic concept, but have focused more on dispute and diveristy then politeness and common ground. bell hooks proposes that safe classrooms protects the status quo, whereas dispute and confrontation empower students when their critiques of society are validated. School learning should parallel natural learning and parallel cooperative skills. Lecture should be replaced by student activity. Allowing students to contribute helps to change their views towards key issues because they can connect it to their deeply held perspectives. Confrontation tends to transform student views, if not make them more sensitive to other views.

Cultural Pedagogy: Dialogue and Critique: Bakhtin and the Cultural Studies Writing Classroom

This article is taken out of the Journal of College Composition and Communication and addresses the importance of cultural criticism. Even though everyone is capable of cultural criticism, the issues are often invisible to them, so it becomes necessary to address it in the classroom. Subjects already have their identity, making cultural criticism a volatile subject. It is often seen as "oppositional," "elitist," and "authoritarian" in its methods and goals. It's difficult to teach in a way that shows respect for the student's views and question complacency with those views. Students already know about pop culture, but they don't know how to use that knowledge to improve it. They often resent cultural critiques because the critiques often target the generation these students grew up in. To remedy this issue, students need to engage in dialogue to discuss these critiques and choose texts to analyze rather than be pressured to agree with the teacher. Dialogue should not be forced, but it should be made available and is necessary to help students understand cultural studies.

Rhetorical Pedagogy: The Rise and Fall of the Modes of Discourse

This article in the Journal of College Composition and Communication chronicles the evolution of composition practices in the last 200 years, particularly the classification of different modes of discourse. Initially in the 1800's, educators endorsed Bain's classification, which featured Description, Narration, and Exposition to inform understanding; Persuasion was used for means of influence. These categories were accepted between 1830 and 1900 because Bai used them as a principle for organizaiton in English composition and rhetoric, which was strongly emphasized. After 1895, the four modes were a constant in textbooks. By 1940, however, expository writing was the most prevalent, while narrative and description were "specialized niches of their own." Persuasion was almost nonexistent, being pushed into the speech department as an oral concern. More theses focused on language activities, while communications and semantics were dominant. By the 1970's, process, invention, and syntactic methods were emphasized. The four modes have since expired and are not considered theoretically valid or to have practical usefulness. Basically, they were popular until they were examined for usefulness, and it was determined that students don't really become better writers from these modes. Process-oriented considerations are more popular these days.

Collaborative Pedagogy: Women as Emergent Leaders in Student Collaborative Writing Groups

Taken from the Journal of Advanced Composition, this article suggests that women find it more difficult to be recognized as leaders in collaborative writing projects. In a case study, the author found that attitudes towards women in general affect attitudes towards them as leaders. Leadership is a perception on the part on the group members based on certain traits and the group situation; consequently, many women are not perceived as leaders due to the common sex-role stereotypes. However, if women are perceived as good writers, it becomes more possible for them to be perceived as the leader in a collaborative writing project. As the old saying goes, however, the woman has to work twice as hard as the man in order to get the same amount of credit. Basically, she must do it all to be considered the leader of the group. To combat this problem as teachers, we should have groups choose a specific leader and justify their choice based on particular characteristics.